When Shanghai Bobby retired to stand at Ashford Stud, Versailles, Kentucky for the 2014 breeding season, the hope was that he would become a prolific source of speedy and precocious dirt horses. At the time, that hope appeared to be an entirely reasonable one, given that he was an undefeated
Royal Ascot Day 4 – Coronation for Alpha Centauri
When she went to 2-for-2 with a win in last year’s Naas Fillies’ Sprint Stakes, Alpha Centauri, looked as if she had superstar potential. However, she was narrowly defeated by the French invader Different League in the Albany Stakes (G3) at Royal Ascot, and then ran unplaced in her next
Royal Ascot Day III – Stradivarius in the Gold Cup
The two-and-a-half mile Ascot Gold Cup (G1) may have long ceased to be as stallion making race – the last winner to become a major sire on the flat was probably Sheshoon who prevailed in 1960 – but it often provides an exceptional spectacle, and the 2018 renewal was no
Poet Has Last Word in Prince of Wales’s Stakes
The highlight of the day, the ten furlong Prince of Wales’s Stakes (G1) was also supposed to be one of the banker bets of the meeting, featuring Cracksman, officially the high-weighted turf male in the world last year. Cracksman had reportedly struggled to handle the downhill at Epsom when narrowly
ROYAL ASCOT DAY 1 – FRANKEL DOUBLE
Royal Ascot kicked off on Tuesday with a double for Frankel. His first winner, Without Parole, captured the St. James’s Palace Stakes (G1) by a ½ length over the determinedly-closing Gustav Klimt (a Galileo/Danehill cross, like Frankel). This rather recalled Frankel’s own St. James’s Palace, when he held off the
IF 6 WAS 20 – THE FAMILY ROOTS OF FRENCH DERBY WINNER STUDY OF MAN
To paraphrase Jimi Hendrix, “if 6 was 20, would we mind?” Well we might if we’re interested in mtDNA haplotypes, and were looking at the family of last week’s Prix du Jockey-Club/French Derby (G1) winner, Study of Man. Out of the Storm Cat mare, Second Happiness, he is a grandson
HOLLIDAY, HARZAND & MINDING
With Harzand and Minding taking the Epsom Derby (gr. I) and Epsom Oaks (gr. I), and then following up with wins in the Irish Derby (gr. I) and Pretty Polly Stakes (gr. I), it’s interesting to reflect how both go back to families developed by the great English breeder, Major
ROYAL ASCOT – DAYS 4/5 – THE NEED FOR SPEED
Run for only the second time the six furlong Commonwealth Stakes (gr. I) for three-year-old sprinters fell to Quiet Reflection, who was winning for the sixth time in seven starts, all but one of those victories coming in black type company. Quiet Reflection is from the second crop of the
ROYAL ASCOT DAY 3 – CUP OF ST GEORGE
After a runaway win in the Irish St. Leger (gr. I) at three last year, Order of St George was given a World Racehorse Ranking that rated him among the best stayers of recent years. To justify such lofty consideration he really needed to win this year’s Ascot Gold Cup
ROYAL ASCOT DAY 2 – SCAT DADDY SCORES AGAIN
On Day 1 at Royal Ascot, Carvaggio, a son of Scat Daddy, scored an impressive victory in the Coventry Stakes (gr. II). Last year, Scat Daddy was represented by Royal Ascot juvenile group winner Acapulco, and before that there was No Nay Never. None of that trio, however, was as
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